Printing machine



Feb. 26, 1935. *Y w. T- A GQLLwlTzl-:R 1,992,661

PRINTING MACHINE Feb. 26, 1935. w. T. GOLLWITzl-:R

PRINT ING MACHINE Filed July 25, 1950 l0 Sheets-Sheet 2 W. T. GOLLWITZERPRINTING MACHINE Filed July 25, 1930 Feb. 26, 1935.

10 Sheets-Sheet 3 226 am j jy/f2 M@ Feb. 26, 1935. w. T. GOLLWITZER1,992,661

- PRINTING MACHINE Filed July 25, 1950 10 Sheets-Sheet 4 Feb- 26,- 1935.w. T. GoLLwrrzER 1,992,661

PRINTING MACHINE Filed July 23, 1950 l0 Sheets-Sheet 5 k\ A A, y\ 7 I//0 Q F eb. 26, 1935.

W. T. GOLLWITZER PRINTING MACHINE Filed July 25, 1930 10 Sheets-Sheet 6NBN NNN

i@ iff-TMW@ Feb. 26, 1935. w. T.-Gol w|TZER PRINTING MACHINE l0Sheets-Sheet 7- Filed July 25, 1950 Feb. 26, 1935. w. T. GoLLwlTzERPRINTING MACHINE.

1o sheets-sheet 8 Filed July 23, 1930 Feb. 26, 1935.

PRINTINGMACHINE 1o sheets-sheet 9 'Filed July 2 3. 1930 Feb. Z6, 1935.w. T. GOLLWITZER PRINTING MACHINE 10 SheetswShe'et l0 Filed July 23,1930[ QQN mi m

Patented Feb. 26, .1935

[UNITED STATES PRINTING MACH-INE Walter T. Gollwitzer, Chicagm;Iil1.,rassignor t Addressograph Company, Wilmington, Del., a

corporation of Delaware Application July 2s, 1930, seijiaiNo.. 469,953

' scolaimps. `(C1. 1er-758)? This invention relates toprinting machinesof the kind through which a plurality of printing devices'aresequentially passed for use in printing operations. The printingdevices may have a print.

going character are used in many commercial enterprises and one typicaluse is b-y so-called mail-order houses. It has been i'ound thatcustomers of. such houses often buy only certain kinds of merchandise,and it is therefore not profitable to send all customers all of theadvertisingV literature and the like broadcast by such houses. Anexample of the foregoing isthat somecustomers may buy only boots andshoes,` others clothing, still others farm implements,l

' and so on. Because. of' this, vit is customary to address theadvertising literature only to cus` tomers interested in merchandise ofthe character described in the particular literature being t sent out. A

J to Which this invention relates are lused for the addressing, aselecting mechanism is provided Which may be controlled in manydiiierent 'Ways as, for example, by providing tabs, notches or otheridentifying means on the printing devices engageable by detectors intheprinting machine, which determine Whether or no-t a printing de vice isto be used in an addressing operation, and thus the printing devices forcustomers who are not to receive literature of the character being sentout are not used in an addressing operation;

that is, such printing devices are skipped.

It has been pointed ou-t that certain customers usually buy only certaintypes of merchandise,

and the selecting mechanism may be arranged for` control by thispurchasing characteristic of the customers, this being known as aprimary selection. In addition, the creditrating oi the customersvaries; that is, some customers. have unlimited credit, while othershave ahigh credit rating but limited, still others have a low creditrating, and some customers are dealt with only on a cash basis. It is,therefore, desirable that the selecting mechanism be operable todetermine When printing machines of the kind.

Whether or not aY printing device is to be used credit rating of thecustomers' represented by' theV printing devices. This latter selectionis; also a Sov-called primary selection; It is also' desirable toprovide what are termed secondary selections; orexample, the housemaynndthat it is advan- 5' tageous to circularize` certain customers duringthe holiday seasons as, for exampleat Christmas or' Easter. Further;special sale campaigns mayv be put on from time to time in which it isde'- sirable to circularize only certaincustomers with certain creditratings, or customers incertain geographicalareas, or the like; It vvillbe readily4 manifest that, the numberv of combinations ofselection kthatmight arise underv this secondary selection isvery high, and therefore,it is highly advantageous to providel aselecting mechanism which willbeso constitutedv that a very large number of` selections may be broughtabout thereby. y Y

The executive,l as for example, a department manager, a sales or'advertising manager, or' the like','usually determines what customersare to be circularized, but such an executive obviously does notNoperate themachine nor does he actually set up the machine. to bringabout the desired selection of printing devices. Toavoid incorrectaddressing of literature, and the resultantwaste', it is desirable thatthe selecting mechanism be so arranged that the set-,up thereof'may bereadily determined in a positive manner and'thus costly 30 errors due toincorrect addressing'may be climi#- nated.

The` salient objects of my invention` are to provide a novel selectingmechanism for printing machines and the likewhich provides. alargenumber Aof primary selections and a vast'variety. oi secondaryselections which is Yof simple construction and so arranged'thatv it maybe easily set up to determine admired-selection; which embodies asignallarrangement operable by the selector mechanism;1which embodies aremovable part, for example, one inthe form of a'socalled matrix, thatdetermines the set-up of the selecting mechanism; which employ a vmatrixof simpleinexpensive construction so that`- a number. of matricesY maybeprovided economically,.`the matrices beingy differently formed to bringabout diierent selections; `andrv-hich is so arranged that the selectionmay be reversed; that is, when theprijntingdevices. areoncesequentiallypassed through theY machine, certainv printing devices. areused.V While, others n are not,but in my improved device this conditionmay be readily altered so thatv` theI printing devices .not used in v'the rst sequential passage are used on the next ing device, thedetecting fingers and the matrix' as arranged tov locate the parts inthe manner` passage, while those used in the first passage are not to beused in the second.

When advertising literature and the like is addressed, frequently morethan one piece is sent to each customer. It is therefore another objectof my invention to provide a printing machine wherein a number ofrepetitious impressions may be made from each printing device passedint-o printing position so that a number of pieces of literature may beaddressed, and an ancillary object is to provide a printing machinewherein these repetitions printing operations are only performed fromprintnig devices which are determined by the selecting mechanism.

Printing devices of the character used in the machines of the type towhich my invention pertains are of restricted size and therefore it is afurther object to provide a selecting mechanism which is controllablefrom portions on the printing device of restricted size, and, therefore,a large number of such portions may be provided on' the printing device.y f

' A selected embodiment of my invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a' front elevation .of a machineconstructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. la is a fragmental perspective view of a portion of themachine-operation controlling mechanism;

Fig. 2 is va fragmental side elevational View of the machine illustratedin Fig. 1;

Fig. 2a is a detail front view of a clutch ernployed in the machine;

Fig. 3 is a fragmental sectional view of the op- '.erating mechanismlooking in from the right hand end of the machine as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmental elevational view of the operating mechanismslooking in at the rear of the machine;

Fig. 5 is a fragmental detail View of a shifting mechanism provided inthe machine;

Fig. 6 is a fragmental front elevation, drawn to an enlarged scale; n

Fig. 6a is a sectional view taken transversely through the anvil atprinting position.

Fig. 7 is a view taken substantially on theline 7-7 on Fig. 1; n

Fig. 8 is a sectional view takensubstantially on the line 8-8 on Fig. 4;

` Fig. 9 is a fragmental detail view of a portion of the mechanismcontrolling the platen operation;

Fig. 10 is a top plan view, drawn to an enlarged scale, of theAdetecting portion of the selector mechanism;

Fig. 11 is a View taken substantially on the line 11-11 on Fig. 2a; Y

Fig. 12 is a detail view of a matrix and the holder therefor;

Fig. 13 is a detail view of the feeler or detecting fingers of theselector mechanism;

Fig. 14 is a fragmental view, similar to Fig. 7, and drawn to anenlarged scale, showing the operating mechanisms as arranged in` oneposition by the selector mechanism; e

Fig. 15 is a perspective view showing the printshown in Fig. 14;

Fig. 16 is a view, similar to Fig. 14, showing the parts in anotheroperating position;

Fig. 17 is a perspective view, similar to Fig. 15, showing the parts inthe position illustrated in Fig. 16;

Fig. 18 is a view, similar to Figs. 14 and 16,.

showing the parts in another operating position;

Fig. 19 is a view showing the matrix and a portion of the selectormechanism control;

Fig. 20 is a view, similar to Fig. 19, showing the selector mechanism inanother position;

Fig. 21 is a fragmental view, similar to Fig. 18, showing a portion ofthe selector mechanism in another operating position;

Fig. 22 is a view, similar to Fig. 21, showing the parts in stillanother operating position;

Fig. 23 is a perspective view of one of the printing devices; and

Fig. 24 is a perspective view showing the matrix.

While the selecting mechanism of this invention may be used inconnection with printing machinesof various forms of construction, Ihave, in the drawings, shown the mechanism in connection with a printingmachine embodying a frame 25 composed of suitably joined tubularmembers. On the shaft 27of the motor 26, (Fig. I

1) carried by the frame 25, is a pulley structure 28. Depending from thebed 29 of the machine is a bracket 30 and a jack shaft 31 is journaledin bearings in this bracket. On the jack shaft 31 is a pulleyarrangement 32 and a belt 33 interconnects the pulley arrangements 28and 32 to transmit power from the motor 26 to the jack shaft 31. Themain drive shaft 34 of the machine is journaled in suitable bearingssuch as35 and rotatably mounted thereon is a spur gear 36 that'mesheswith a pinion 37 fixed on the jack shaft 31. Fixed to one face ofthespur gear 36 is a disc 37 (Figs. 2a and 11) surrounded by a clutchhousing 38 secured to the shaft 34. Pivotally mounted on the clutch'housing 38 is an arm 39 and a spring 40 is disposed between this arm 39and a bushing about the shaft 34 to urge said arm away from said shaft.The arm 39 is substantially arcuate in contour and has a segment 41thereon, engaged by the teeth 42 on the pin 43. The pin 43 serves as atumbler and includes a portion engageable in the notches 45 in the disc87. When the pin 43 is seated in one of the notches 45, the disc 37' isconnected to the clutch housing 38 and the shaft 34 is rotated. Y

Pivotally mounted on the frame 25 'is an arm 46 having a nose 47 thereonengageable with a nose 48 on the arm 39. When the nose 47 engages thevnose 48 the arm 39 is held against rotating movement and therefore thearm 39 tends to wrap around the shaft 34, and it thus moves toward saidshaft and compresses the spring 40 and also, through the segment41,rotates the pin 43 to move the at portion 44 into tangential relationwith the periphery of disc 37 and the notches 45 to disconnect disc 37and the clutch housing 38 which interrupts rotation of the driveshaft`34. A friction 49 (Fig. 2a) is provided, which is secured to thegear 36, and this friction bears on the clutch housing 38 to preventretroactive movement thereof, which might be caused by the spring`40,with a resultant reengagement of the v neeaeer n rod 50 engages the endof the arm 46 opposite the nose 47, said arm 46 being pivoted on theframe 25 as indicated at 51 (Fig. 2). The rod 50 is connected to the arm52 of the rocker 53 (Fig. 1a) mounted on the shaft 54 carried bythe arm55 and the bracket 56 on the frame 25 (Fig. 1). A link 58 is attached tothe arm 57 of the rocker 53 and also to the foot pedal 59 (Fig. 1). Whenthe foot pedal 59 is moved downwardly-the rocker 53 isi pivoted on theshaft 54and the arm 52 therefore moves downwardly to similarly move therod 50, which is held in an upper position by thespring 60 (Fig. la)extended between a portion of the frame 25 anda lug 61 on the armv52.Also-fixed on the shaft 54 is an arm 62 (Figpl) having a link 63connected thereto which is also connected to the footpedal 64. An arm65is fixed on the shaft 54 and has a lug 66 thereon rested on the uppersurfaceofthe arm 57 of vthe rocker 53; By depressing the foot pedal 64the rod 50 will be moved downwardly and, therefore, the connectionbetween the gear 36 and the shaft 34v is controllable by either the footpedal'59 or the-foot pedal 64. A bracket 67 extends upwardly from thearm 55 and provides a bearing in which a stub shaft 68 is journaled. Adisc 69 is eccentrically mounted on the stub shaft 68 and has a handle70.- By gripping the handle 70, the disc 69 may be rotated to movethemost eccentric portion thereof into engagement with the' arm` 52, andvthus said arm 5 2 may be moved downwardly to similarly move the rod 50for the purpose set forth. By permitting disc 69 toremain in this.position the shaft 34 and the gear *.36 may-be interconnected to causeconstant rota'- tion of said shaft.- When the disc 69 is so rotated thatthe least eccentric portion thereof engages the arm 52, the rod 50 ispermitted to move into upper or clutch disengagingposition. It istherefore apparent that the operation of the main drive shaft 34 mayalso be controlled by the disc 69. v

The various mechanisms in the machine are operated from the mainy driveshaft 34and among v these mechanisms are those which bring aboutsequential passage of the printing devices through printing position.The printing devices, indicathaving a plate on the upper edge thereof onwhich the printing devices D are rested, said plate preferably being ofa width equal to the dista-nce between the spacing flanges on theprinting devices so that the printing devices neatly t on said plate.Extending in juxtaposition to the center bar 74 on each side thereof arerails- 76 and 76' (Fig. 6a). Mounted inwardly of the rail 76 is theslide bar 77 having driving pawls 78 mounted thereon (Figs. 6 and 7).These driving pawls 78 are `urged upwardly by springs 79. At

the rear end ofthe slide bar is a portion providing a shoulder 86 whichengages the lowermost of the printing devices in the magazine 71 to movethis printing device into the guideway 72, the upper surface of thisportion holding the remaining printing devices in the magazine duringthis forward movement. The printing devices withdrawn from the magazineand passed into the guideway 72 are held against rearward movement bystop pawlsvl, (Fig. 6a) since a reciprocatory move- Extending across thea ribbon R (Fig. 6) being directed over the printing device D above theanvil 82. Any suitable means may be provided for imparting movementtothe ribbon R, one such means being disclosed in my co-pendingapplication, Serial No. 467,784, filed July 14, 1930. After passingthrough printing position, the printing devices are directed to theprinting device receiving compartment wherein they are collected. n

The slide bar 77, as has been stated, has a reciprocatory movementimparted thereto, and this' is imparted bythe rod 83 (Fig. 6) connectedto the lug 84 dependingfrom said slide bar and pivot-l ally connectedthereto. The rod 83 is pivotally connected to the upper end of a rocker85 pivotment is imparted to the-slide barV 77 to impart.

ally mounted on the stubk shaft 86 carried by the bracket 30 (Fig. 3)depending from the bed 29. Another rocker 88 is mounted on the stubshaft 86 adjacent the rocker 85. On the rear face of the rocker 88 alongthe edges thereof are projecting flanges 89 and 90 (Fig. 8) whichprovide a guideway 91 therebetween. Disposed in the guidewayy 91 is aroller 92 carried by the crank 93 mounted at the outer end of the shaft9,4 supported by the bracket 30 (Fig. 8). On the opposite end oftheshaft 94 is a bevel gear 96 which meshes with a bevel gear 97 Vxed ontheshaft 34. ,Therefora when the shaft 34 is rotated` movement isimparted through the bevel gears 97 and 96 to the shaft 94 tooperate thecrank 93 to cause the roller,.92 to move back and forth in the guideway91, and by reason of the throw of the crank 93 a rocking `movement isimparted to the rocker 88. On the `rocker v88 isl a lug 98 which extendspast one edge of the rocker 85. Pivotally mounted on a boss 99 on therocker 85 is a pawl 190 (Fig. 6)- having a notch 101 engaging the lug 98to interconnect the lug 98 and the pawl 100 and, consequently, therockers 85 and88. A spring 100y (Fig. 6) extends between pins on pawl100 and rocker 85 to hold the pawl 100 in this position. It is thereforeapparent that, as long as the-notch llengages'the lug 98 and the shaft34is rotated, a rocking movement will be imparted tothe rocker 85, whichrocking movement rwill be transmitted through the rod 83 to the slide'bar 77. Therefore, the printing devices will be withdrawn from themagazine 71 and sequentially passed through the machine.

Pivotally mounted on the selector bracket 95 at 102 (Fig. 6) is an arm103 which has a pin 104 (Fig.2) at one end thereof through which the.

rod is extended, nuts 106 being provided at the upper end of the rod105and about said rod, be-

tween said nuts andthe pin 104, is a spring 107.r

The lower end of therod 105 is connected to an arm 108 on the shaft 54(Fig. la). Therefore,

when the foot pedal 64 `is depressedto cause roy tation of the shaft 54,the rod 105 will bemoved downwardly compressing the spring 107 whichwill act to pivot the arm 103 downwardly. The

pin 104bears-against the-inclined surfaceA of the pin 169, (Fig. 6),extended vupwardly from the pawl 100, and this causes the pawl to bepivotedy The platen arm is pivotally supported on:

the shaft 111 (Fig. 7) mounted at the rear of the bed of the printingmachine. The platen arm includes a depending arm 112 (Figs. 2 andl)extendedbelow the shaft 111, and at the lower end of arm 112 is alug113' (Fig. 16) engageable in the notch 114 of the arm 115 pivotallymounted at 116l on a bracket depending from the frame 25. When theplaten arm is in upper or non-printing position, as disclosed in Fig. l,the lug 113 is engaged in the notch 114. However, in a manner to bedescribed hereinafter, the arm 115 is pivoted to retract the notch 114from engagement with the lug 113 and by reason of the overhanging extentof the arm 110, best disclosed in Figs. 2 and '7, and by reason of theweight of the platen P at the outer end of the arm 110, said arm pivotsabout the shaft 111 toward the printing device arranged abovethe anvil82, it being apparent that the platen moves downwardly by its ownweight. Thus, if the operators hand or other obstruction is in the pathof the platen, no injury results as the weight of the platen isinsuicient to cause injury. However, just prior to the time the platenis to perform the printing operation means areprovided for bringingabout connection thereof with the driving means so that a blow ofappreciable force is struck by the platen.

The platen is driven from the main drive shaft 34 and eccentricallymounted on this main drive shaft is an eccentric disc 11'?1 (Fig. 3)surrounded by an eccentric bushing 117', which, in turn, is surroundedby the clamp strip 118 retained in position by the clamp portiongenerally indicated by 119. Formed as a unitary part of the clamp strip118 is an arm 120 having a block `121 secured thereto, defining ashoulder 122. As the shaft 34 is rotated an oscillatory movement isimparted to the arm 120, and this movementis utilized to impart drivingaction tothe platen arm. Adjacent the lower end of the arm 112 a dog 123is pivotally mounted and has a nose 124 (Fig. 7) at one end and ashoulder 125 at the rother end. A spring 126 extends between the dog 123and the arm 112 and acts on the dog to urge the shoulder 125 toward thepath of the shoulder 122, and this action also urges the nose 124 intoengagement with the cam surface 127 on the upper edge of thefxedly'mounted arm 128, as shown in Fig. 16. As the platen arm pivotsdownwardly, in the manner previously described, the nose 124 moves alongthe camsurace 127 and just prior to the movement of the platen intoprinting position, the nose 124 reaches the end of and drops out ofengagement with the cam surface 127, as shown in Fig. 7,

and the shoulder 125 moves into the path of and engages` the shoulder122. At this time the arm 120 is moving away from the sl'iafL 34,-and,therefore,`a driving force is imparted fromfthe block 121 tothe dog 123,throug the depending arm 112 and platen arm 110, to the platen P,which'causes the platen to perform a printing operation. Thus it ismanifest that the platen cannot be connected to the driving meanstherefor until a time just prior to the printing impression and,therefore,

the platen falls merely by its own weight and is entirely free, and asthe nose 124 cannot disengage the cam surface 127 until the spacebetween the platen andthe member to receive the impression is so smallthat there is notv sufcient room for foreign objects to be below theplaten, it is manifest that driving force cannot be imparted to theplaten until all likelihood of injury is obviated.

It is often desirable that more than one impression be taken from theprinting devices moved into'printing position and to do this it isnecessary that the platen be 'repetitiously operated and that theprinting device feeding action be interrupted. I have therefore providedan arrangement which enables such repetitious operation of the platen,and this arrangement includes meansv which operate to bring aboutconsecutive, duplicate, triplicate, or quadruplicate operation of theplaten and, if desired, this means might be arranged to bring aboutfurther repetitious actions of the platen, as will be made apparentpresently.

A shaft 129 (Fig. 14) is suitably supported on the bracket 30 (Fig. 9)and a plurality of peripherally notched discs are rotatably mounted onsaid shaft and these discs determine repetitious operation of theplaten. These discs are operated `by a pawl 130 (Fig. 7) pivotallymounted on the outer end of an arm 131 that has a bearing portion 132through which the shaft 111 is extended. Depending from the bearingportion 132 is a boss 133 and a spring 134 extends between the frame 25and the boss-133, and this spring acts to urge the arm 131 upwardly. Anadjusting screw 135 is mounted in the armv131 and has a lock nut 136thereon. The freeend of the adjusting screw 135 engages one edge of thearcuate arm 137 (Fig. 4) that is connected to and extends at rightangles from the platen arm 110 and the depending arm 112 and about theshaft 111. When the platen moves downwardly, as previously described, anedge of the arcuate arm 137 engages the screw 135 and pivots the arm 131downwardly against the action of the spring 134. A spring 138 extendsbetween the pawl 130 and the arm 131 and urges the free end of the pawlinto engagement with a shield 139, (Fig. 9) carried by the bracket 30,disposed over the peripherally notched discs mounted on the shaft 129.

In the present instance, where the device is to be arranged forconsecutive, duplicate, triplicate, and'quadruplicate operation of theplaten, three such discsare provided, and these discs are indicated by140, 141 and 142, and by referring to Fig. 9, it may be seen that theshield 139 is slightly wider than the three discs and the spacingtherebetween'. The discv 140 is engaged by the pawl 130 to bring aboutduplicate operationsof the aggregate width of the platen and in thepresent construction of the machine this disc 140 has twelve notches inthe periphery thereof. The disc 141 brings about triplicate operationsof the platen and has eighteen notches in the periphery thereof. Thedisc 142 brings about the quadruplicate operations of the platen andthis disc has twentyfour no-tchesin the periphery'thereof.

It has been pointed out 'that the pawl 130 rests on the shield 139 and,therefore, this shield normally withholds the pawl from engagement withthe notches in the discs. When the pawl 130 engages the discw140, havingtwelve notches therein,

near the start ofdownward movement of the'pa'wl and to permit the pawlto continue in engagement during most of its downward -movementxThe'shield 139 is also cut away, as indicated at 144, in alignment withthe disc 142, but it is apparent that a smaller portion of the shield iscut away in this instance so that the pawl only engages the disc for ashort period during its downward movement. Intermediate the cut awayportions V143 and 144 the shield is cut away, as indicated at 145, andthis cut away portion per-k mits thepawl '130'to engage the disc 141fora period longer than it engages the disc 142 but in an amount lessthan it engages the disc 140.

The remaining portion 146 of the shield is not" cut away and, therefore,when the pawl is aligned with this portion- 140' of the shield, itmerely rides thereover and does not engage any disc, and

f a reduced portion 150 on the arm 103 at the end thereof opposite the.pin .104. Ihe opposite end of the arm 146 extends through an opening151 (Fig. 7) in the bracket 95 and is disposed below the pin 152 mountednear the upper end ofthe arm 153 that is pivotally mounted at 154. Onthe arm 153, below the pivotal mounting 154, isa pin 155. Extendedthrough the discs 140,141and 142,. are six pins 156 equidistantlyandcircumferentially spaced in the discs. Since six vpins are provided, thediscs are notched in multiples of six and the discs have beendescribedas having twelve, eighteen and twenty-fournotchesin the peripheriesthereof. When the machine is arranged for consecutive operation, the pin155 remains engaged with one of the pins 156, as illustrated, forexample, in Fig.` '7. A spring 15'7 extends between the bracket 30 andthe arm153 and acts onsaid arm to hold the pin` 155 in engagement with apin 156.

When the' pawl 130 is moved intok alignment with, for example, Vthe disc140 having twelve notches therein, and said pawl is moveddownwardly inthe manner described, it engages one ofthe notches on the disc 1404 androtates the disc 140 one-twelfth of a' revolution. This moves the pin156 that has been engaging the pin 155 from such engagement, and thespring 157 pivots the arm 153 to cause the pin 152 to movevdownwardly.Downward movement of the pin 152 similarly -pivots the'engaged end ofarm 146 and,

therefore, thek end of arm 146 bearing the screw 149 moves upwardly.This pivots the arm 103 which causes the bearing portion 104 to movealong Vthe inclined portion of the -pink 109 to disengage the notch 101from the lng 98 and to thus disconnect the rocker 85zfromtherocker 88which, Aas previously pointed'out, disconnectsthe l printing devicefeed. The screw 149 is adjustable and, therefore, the amount of movementimparted to the arm 103 may be 'easilyvaried UponI the'circinnferentially spaced; therefore, when the rst Vone-twelfth of arevolution was imparted to the disc 140, the Adisc was rotated in anamount Sufficient to dispose the pin `155 Amidway between two of thepins 156. Thus, when the latter'onevl-'twelfth of a revolution isvimparted to the disc,.

thesucceeding pin 156 is moved linto engagement with theipin 155 andthis pivots thearm 153l upwardly. A spring 156 (Fig. 6) extends betweenthe arms 146 and 103 and holds theends of these arms in 1 engagementwith each other. y

be'operatedunder theseconditions, it will move over ,theshield 139 andwill .engage one ofthe notches `of the disc 1'41and .willimpart to saiddisc one-eighteenth of' a revolution. VThis will disengage one of thepins 156 from .the pin155', and the printing device feed will'beydisconnected when downward movement of the. pin 152 occurs.Howeven'under this condition, thepin '155 will be disposed one-third ofthe @distance between the' pinsr156 andthus upon thenext operation ofthepawl 130 thediscl41 will again be movedl one-eighteenth of Va revolution.and the succeeding pin 156 .will-not engage the pin v155 and,therefore, the printing device feedwill again `not oper'ace.` (However,.on .the nextl .operation/of .the pawl 130.the.disc 141` will V.again bemoved ones eighteenth of a revolution .and during thisk operation thesucceeding pin 156 `will engage; the pin 155 and, therefore, the.printing devicefeed willagain 'be placed in operation. Itis there foreapparent when the pawl .is aligned'with the disc that the printingdevice rfeed is in'- terruptedon alternate operations ofthe machine andwhen the pawl 130 is aligned with the disc 141 the printing device feedis interrupted vfor" two consecutive operations ofthemachine and is notreengaged until the-third successive operation. Thus, since twenty-fournotches are provided .inthe disc 142, it is apparent ythat the discwill` be rotatedbut one-twenty-'fourth of a 1` revolution on eachoperation ofthe pawl 130;r

therefore'when a pin 156 is disengaged'from the pin the succeeding Apindoes not/engage the pin 155 until the fourthy following operation of thepawl 130. As the pawl '130 is operated from the platenoperating'mechanism-andA as 4the pawl, inthe above describedfmanner,controls the operation of the'l `printing device feed, itk is apparentthat the platen will 'make' consecutive,l

duplicate,t,riplicate, or quadruplicate operations on the same printingdevice dependentupon the setting of the pawl130. y f

f To determine the setting ofthe pawl 130` on v the shield 139, Iprovide the following arrangement: v.A groove 159 is provided in theshaft 111 through which a rod 160 (FigSQ4and 14) is ex'- tended. One endof the rod 160 is connected to the bearingy portieriA 132 (Fig. 14)-"andvthe other end is mounted in the bifurcation 162 in v disposed betweenthe discs 140, 141 and 142, ,and y 75 g thesev spring washers exertsufficient Atension on the discsto prevent turning .thereofother thanthat causedA bythe pawl 130. All of the printing devices D passedthrough the machine are not always used in a printing operation, andthisis determinedby'aselector mechanism. This .selector mechanismcontrols the disengagement of the notch 114 inlthe arm 115 from the lug113 and, therefore, the operation of the platen is regulated by theselector mechanism.' The selector mechanism in the present device isoperated from the shaft 34 and includes feeler ordetecting fingers whichmove into engagement with oneside edge of the printing device that isdisposed ina position just prior to printing position, and this priorposition will be known hereinafter as the selecting position. To bringabout the selection in the'desired manner, identifying means areprovided on the printing devices and in the illustrated embodiment ofthe invention theedges ofthe printing devices to be engaged by thefeeler fingers are notched in a predetermined manner, the number ofnotch positions and the vnumber of the feeler fingers corresponding. Themovement of the feeler fingers into the notches, or engagement of thefeeler fingers .with the edge of the printing devicewhere no notches areprovided, determine the selection; that is, determines whether or notthe print` ing device in selecting position a `printing operation. n vkA printing device of the character used in this machine is illustratedin detail in Fig. 23, and along the edge thereof, which is disposedtoward thefront of the machine when the printing device is passedtherethrough, a plurality of notches, such as 167, may be provided, lthepossible positions for these notches being'illustrated by dotted linesin Fig. 23and in the present device provision is made for twenty-fournotches, the machine being constructed to operate on a printing deviceprovided with that number,'but it is to be understood that a greater. orless nurnber of notch'positions might be provided-without departing fromthe purview of my invention, the machine, of course, beingcorrespondingly changed vto care for such variation in the number ofnotchv positions'.

Eachof the notches 167 formed at the side edge of; the printing device Dprovides vwhat is known as a primary selection. If, for example,themachine isto be used by a mail-,order house, onel of these notchesmay indicate customers who customarilybuy'boots and shoes; another ofthe notches may indicate .customers who customarily buy clothing, andanother notch may indicate customers who customarily buy farmimplements. From this, it is believedapparent that each notch may beused to indicate certain purchasing characteristics. Certain of thesenotches, however, may be used to indicate the credit rating of thecustomers. 1 ,For example, the last four notches of the printing device,illustrated in Fig. 23, may represent the four credit ratings of thehouse. Each printing device is notchedat-the time it is made up inaccordance with the foregoing and these provide the primaryselectionsand if, for example, it is desired to send advertisingliterature to a group of customers who customarily buy boots and shoes,and at the same time it is desired to send advertising literature tocustomers Whocustomarily buy clothing, While at the same time it isdesired to send this literatureonly to customers having credit ratingsunderthe two better classifications, the selector mechanism is soarranged that the platen' operates only ona printing device havingnotches representing customers who buy boots and shoes and customers whobuy clothing, and which customers have credit ratings under the twobetter classifications. This is brought about by providing anarrangement which includes a head carrying feeling or detecting fingers,the total number of these fingers equaling the total number of notchesthat may be provided in the printing device.

Such detecting fingers are illustrated in .plan in Fig. 10 and intransverse section in Fig.14. These feeling or detecting fingers areindicated by 168 and, in the present instance, are'twentyfour in number,since the printing devices may be notched at twenty-fourdiiferentplaces. These fingers are mounted in a suitable head supported on arms169 (Fig. 14) pivotally mounted on the shaft 170 fixed in a bearing inthe bracket 95 depending from the bed 29. The arms 169 carry a sectionhaving a bloclr 171 mounted on the upper edge thereof, a stop plate 172.extending along the front edge of said block. A plurality of spaced ribmembers 173 are defined by slotting the' block 171. The detectingfingers 168 are disposed in the spaces between the rib members 173 andinclude, adjacent one4 of the ends thereof, hook portions 174 thatembrace a pin 175 carried by the rib members and the fingers pivotabout' this pin. In the upper surface of the fingers 168 are notches 176engaging a pin 177 extending along Vthe upper edge of and carried by therib members 173. Hair springs 178 are anchored to a pin 179, carried bythe rib members 173, and to the block 171 and bear against projectionson the lower edges .of the fingers 168 to tend to pivot the fingersabout the pin 175, this pivoting movement being limited by engagement ofthe notches 176 with the pin 177. Each of the fingers maybe pivotedagainst the action of the springs 178 to permit disengagement of thehook portion 174 thereof from the pin 175 to permit removal of the nger.

1t has been pointed out that it is desirable to provide a selectormechanism which may be expeditiously set up and one which is controlledby a removable part inthe form of a matrix. Such a matrix is illustratedin Fig. 24 and is indicated by M. In this matrix a plurality of openingsare formed which are disposed in rows, the openings in the uppermost rowbeing indicated by 180 while the openings in the lowermost row areindicated by 181. Each of the openings 180 is aligned with an opening181.

`The openings 180 and 181 are equidistantly spaced apart and the numberof these openings corresponds to the possible number of notches 167 andfingers 168. When. such a matrix is manufactured all of these openingsare formed.

The matrix M is the part which determines the selection, and this isbrought about by plugging certain of the openings 186 or 181. Forexample, if literature is to be addressed in the manner previouslydescribed, to predetermined groups of customers, having certain creditratings, the openings-181 in the matrix corresponding `to the notches inthe printing devices for Vthese pre-l determined groups and creditratings are plugged, as indicated rat 181', under certain conditions ofoperation of the machine, all of the other openings inthe matrix beingleft open. Therefore, in the present instance, the openings 181 in thematrix which correspond to the customers who customarily buy boots andshoes, and

who customarily buy clothing are closed and, in addition, there areplugged openings only for such Acustomers as have credit ratings fallingwithin the two better classifications. Thus all printing devices notchedin the above manner will be used in a printing operation and this willbe true even though the printing devices have other notches therein, formanifestly each cus.- tomer may buy many different kinds of merchandise.-But a printing device not notched in the above manner will not be usedin a printing operation as will be made apparent.

A matrix constructed in the above manner is introduced into the machine,a head 182 being provided to receive the matrix. This head 182 hasspaced grooves therein into which the side edges of the matrix arefitted. The head 182 is pivotally mounted on the arms 169 at 183 andincludesa projection 184. A spring 185 extends between the projection184 and a pin on one of the arms 169, which spring urges the head 182toward the tail portions of the fingers .168. On the head 182 is a plate186 (Figs. 7 and 21) having a pin 187 projecting from one end thereof. Abell-crank lever, generally indicated by 188. is pivotally mounted onthe shaft 170 and one end of the arm 189 of the bell-crank lever 188bears against the pin 187. The free end of the arm 190 of the bell-cranklever 188 carries a roller 191 that bears against the cam 192 fixed onthe shaft 34.

A horizontally disposed arm 93 has one end' thereof pivotally mounted onthe shaft 170 and.

adjacent this pivotal mounting there is an upwardly extending lug 194(Fig. 7) on which a lever is pivotally mounted. The lever 195 has anotch 196 vthereininto which a pin 197 on the arm 169 is'extended.Pivotally mounted on the arm 193 adjacent the lug 194 is an arm 198having a notch 199 therein into which ythe pointed end 2000i the lever195 is extended, a spring 201 extending between the lug 194 and the arm198 to urge the arm toward the lug.V Since the lever 195 is pivotallyattached to the lug 194 on the arm 193 and as'the notch 196 in saidlever engages a pin on said arm 169 it is apparent that v the arms 193and 169 are interconnected to move as a unit about the shaft 170. .Whenit is desired to disconnect the arms 169 from the arm 193 the lever ispivoted to disengage the notch 196 from the pin 197 and the pointed end290 vis simultaneously disengaged from the notch 199 and the lever 195is Vpreferably moved sufficiently to .permit the spring 201 to move theupper end ofthe arm 198 below the adjacent end of the lever 195 and thusthe lever is held in a position to disengage the notch 196 from the pin197. In this manner the selecting mechanism rendered inoperative.

A cam plate 202 has a cam surface which engages the pin 197, and thisholds the arm 193 in the position illustrated in Fig. 14 to permitoperation of the platen even though the selector mechanism is ininoperative position, for otherwise platen operation is prevented whenthe selector is rendered inoperative.

On the shaft 34 there is an eccentrically mounted disc 204 (Figs. 7 and14) and when the shaft 34 is rotated the most eccentric portions of thedisc move into engagement with the roller 205 on the arm 193 and' thusthe end of the arm 193 remote from the shaft 170 will be pivoteddownwardly about said shaft. This will pivot the arms 169 toward theprinting plate D in selecting position, when the arms 169 are connectedto the arm 193. At this same time, the cam 192 (Fig. 7) acts on theroller v191 to operate the bell-crank is manually 203 thereon 188 tomovethe arm 189 thereof in a direction away from the printing device inselecting posin tion and this cam holds the head 182 in a prefdetermined position when the arms 169 are pivoted, as above described,said head pivoting against the actionof the spring 185. Therefore, thetail portions of the fingers 168 will be entirely disengaged from thematrix M, as illustrated in Fig. 21. The arms 169 will pivot toward theprinting device in an amount sufficient to engage the forward ends ofthe ngers 168 with the notchededge of the printing'device D in selectingposition.. The fingers Ywhich engage unnotched portions of this edgewill be pivoted against the action of the springs 178 so that the tailportionsthereof willv be disposed below the plane of the pin 206,carried by the head 182 forwardly of `the matrix M. The fingers v168which move. into notches in the printing device will' be Vpositionedwith the tail portions thereof abovethe plane of the pin 206. As bestillustrated in Fig. 12, the openings 189 are disposed above the plane ofthe pin 266 while the openings 181 aredisposed below this plane. As soonas the less eccentricv portions of the disc 204 moveinto engagement withthe roller 265V the spring 207, extendedbetween the bracket 30 and thearm 193, will move the 'arm 193 upwardly about the shaft 170, and atthis same ,time the cam 192 will'act on the roller 191=to permit therbell-crank 188 to disengage the arm 189 from pin 187. The arms 169 willmove away from the printing device inl selecting position, and the head182 will move toward the fingers 168. 4As pointed out, the tail portionsof some of the fingers 168 will be above the pin 296Y while others willbe therebelow.' Thus, as the head 182 carrying the matrix M moves towardthese tail portions, the tail portions below the pin 206 will pass intothe openings 181 in the matrix while the tail portions above the pin 206will move toward the openings 139. Ifthe printing device in selectingposition is notched in the above described manner the tail portionsA oi'the fingers which engaged notches in the printing device will Dassthrough openings 180 while the tail portions of the other fingers willpass through openings 181. However, if the printing device is notnotched in the manner described thertal portions of the fingersalignedwith the plugged openings will be disposed below the pin 206 and wiiiengage the plugs in the openings and therefore none of the tail portionswill pass throughopenings in the matrix. rEhe passage of the tailportions through the openings in the matrix or the prevention of thispassage by engagement of the tail portions vwith plugs determines theselection as will be explained.

On the forward face of the head 182 there is a plate 208 which has at anangularly extending tail portion 209. .Carried by the bracket'95 is aplate 210 having a tapered upper edge including surfaces 211 and 212 onopposite sides of a notch 213 in said edge. As

the shaft 34 continues to rotate, the disc 204 will spring 185, theaction of this spring being limited by the engagement of the vtailportions of the fingers168 with the wall of the recess 214 behindtheopenings inthe matrix M. rIhusthe relative the lower end thereof`position between' the arms 169 and the head 182 will be definitelydetermined andas thev arms 169 continue movement caused" by the spring207 the tail portion 209 on the plate 208 will engage the surface 211and will stop the various parts in a definite position, shown in Fig.14.' Forwardly of the roller 205 the arm 193 is provided with anupwardly extending portion 215 andon this portion 215 is a triangularlug 216 having the apex 217 thereof extended in a direction away fromthe` shaft 34.' It has been pointed out that the arm 1'15 is pivotallymounted at 116. Also mounted at 116 Ais an upwardly extending .arm 218which is pivotal about the mounting 116 and connected to the arm 218, tobe movable therewith, is an arm 219 (Figs. 7 and 14), a spring 220lconnecting the arms 115 and 219, and a stop 221. is provided on the arm115 to limit the action of the spring 220. Another spring 222 isconnected to the arm 115 and urges this arm upwardly to engage the notch114 with the lug 113 as shown in Fig. 15. On the edge of the arm218.disposed toward the shaft 34 there is a V-shaped notch 223, and theedge is tapered adjacent the free end, as indicated at 224, to dene apoint 225 in alignment with the surface 226 of the arm 218.

. When the tail portion 209 is rested in the notch 21S the platen arm110 is locked in upper position, and the `nose 217 is disposed along thesurface 224V as shown in Fig. 16.

Prior to the time the parts assume the position shown in Fig. 14`thespring 207 will be pivoting the arm 193 upwardly andthe arms 169downwardly, and this movement will continue until the tail portion 209seats on the surface 211 whereupon movement of the arm 193 will beinterrupted. When the arm 193 is stopped by the engagement of tail 209with surface 211 the nose 217 will be disposed in position to engage thepoint 225 which will hold the arm 218 in the position illustrated inFig. 14. The spring 220 is heavier than the spring 222 and consequentlywhen the nose 217 engages the point 225,` the springv 220 will overcomethe action of the. spring 222 and the arms 218 and 219 will move as aunit to move the arm 115 into the positions'hown in Fig. 14 whereat thenotch 114 is disengaged from the lug 113 and, therefore the platen P mayoperate. In Fig. 15, the manner in which the tail portions of thefingers 158 pass through the openings in the matrix M into the recess214 is disclosed and, when the fingers move in this manner, the platenis operated under the foregoing conditions.

The just described operation occurs vwhen the printing device inselecting position is notched in a manner similar to that in which theopenings 181 in the matrix M are plugged. However, should the printingdevice in selecting position not be notched in the manner similar tothat in which the matrix is plugged, the tail portions of the ngers notentering notches in the printing device will be aligned with openings181 which are plugged as at 181. Therefore, the tail portions of thefingers will be prevented from passing int-o the recess 214 and the head182 will notk pivot toward the fingers as far as it pivots when the tailportions of the fingers 'enter the recess 214 and therefore the tailportion 209 will not move sufficiently to be aligned with the surface211 but will be aligned with the end of the notch 213 adjacent thesurface 211. It is apparent that the lower wall of the notch 213 is in aplane lower than the surface 211 and, therefore, the arm 193 will bepermitted to pivot about the shaft 170 `vslightly more than whenl the`tail portionV 209 engages the surface 211. Thus, in place offtlre nose217 engaging the point 225, said nose will clear said point and oneofthe sides of the triangular lug 216 will rest on the surface 224, asillustrated in Fig. 16. Y

It has been pointed out that rotation of the shaft 34 may be broughtabout by depressing either 'of the foot pedals 59 or 64 or by properlylocating the disc 69. Each complete revolution of the shaft 34 bringsabout one complete operation of the machine. Assuming that a printingdevice of the character which brings about operation in the manner shownin Fig. 14 has just moved into printing position, the operation of themachine will be as follows when. the pawl 130 is arranged to bring about`consecutive operation of theplaten. At the startof a revolution of theshaft 34 the eccentric 117 will start to move the arm 120 which will somove that the hook portion 227 (Fig. 3) thereof will disengage thebearing portion 228 of the support for the dog 123, and by reason of thefact that the printing device, now in printing position, willxhavepreviously been in selecting position, the lug 113 will be disengagedfrom the notch 114 since the arm 115 will have been pivoted downwardly.Therefore, the platen arm 110 willbe free to lfall by its own weightuntil the shoulder 125 engages the shoulder 122 to perform the printingoperation. During the time this is occurring the-eccentricv disc 204will move into engagement with the roller 205- andl will operate theselector mechanism in the .manner described, the selector mechanismengaging the printing device in selecting position to determine whetheror `not this printing device is to be used in a printing operation;Immediately after the platen has performed `a printing operation thenose 227will engage the bearing portion 228 and the arm 120 will bemoved toward the front of the machine and, therefore, the platen armwill be moved back into upper or nonprinting position by the engagementof the hook i portion with the bearing portion.

If, for example, a printing device of the character which arranges themechanisms as disclosed in Fig. 16 has been in selecting position thearm.

ing position'. If this printing device is not-to be` used ina printingoperation the platen arm vwill be prevented from moving ldownwardly bythe engagement of the flattened portion on the lug 113 with the rearedge of the notch 114, when the shaft 34 begins its next completerevolution.

When the device is arranged as shownin Fig. 14 the printing impressionwill be made during the first 180 of revolution `of the shaft 34, andthe selector mechanism will engage the printing device in selectingposition during the same period andv determine the device for the nextrevolution of. the shaft 34. During the Vlast 180 revolution of theshaft 34 the platen arm will be returned to upper position and theselector mechanisms will lock the parts controlled thereby in thedetermined position, and also during this will operate to advance theprinting devices.

setting of the The foregoing is the manner of yoperation When.

espace;

ing. .Howeven when the machine is arranged,

for example, for duplicate; printing, it is manifest,v

that a somewhat different operation will occur. When the machine isarranged'for duplication, the pawl will be aligned with` the disc -140and during the iirst operation of the platen arm, the pawl- 130 will bemoved downwardly toturn the dise one-twelfth of a revolution.vTherefore, one of the pins 15S will be moved from engagement with thepin and the arm 153 will be pivoted by the spring 157. Adjacent thelower end of the arm 153 is a shoulder 229 and onthe arm 193 is a pin230. When the arm 153 is moved by the spring 157, the rear edge of saidarmengages the pin 230 and when the eccentric disc 204 moves the arm 193downwardly the shoulder 229 will move in and engage a fiat portion onthe pin 230, and thus the arm 193 will be held in al downwardpositionwith lthe iingersl68 engagingpthe printing device in selectingposition. VIt has been pointedtout that the printing device feed isrendered inoperativewhen the pin 155 is .disengaged, and since the arm193 will be locked in a downward position, it is manifest that theselector mechanism is simultaneously rendered inoperative. downwardposition, the nose 217 is moved into engagementwith the surface l226, asillustrated in Fig. 7, and this has the same electas the engagement ofthe nose 217 with the point 225 which is to-cause the arm 115 to bepivoted downwardly whereby the notch 114 is disengaged from the lug 113.Consequently, the platen P will be rendered operative and will continueto operate so long asi the nose 217 engages the surface226. The army 193will be held inthis downward position until the succeeding pin 156engages the pin 155 at which time the shoulder 229 will disengage pin230 and the selector mechanism will operate in the manner previouslydescribed. When the machine is set for duplication, this engagement ofthe-pin 155 by the succeeding pin 156 will occur during the rst ofrevolution of the second successive revolution of the shaft 34, and

when the machine is set for triplicate or quad` ruplicate impressionsthis engagement will occur during therst 180 revolution of the shaft 34for the last 4of the triplicate or quadruplicat operations of theplaten. e 'l In the-foregoing description the machine was arranged toprint when the printing device in selecting position was notched in amanner identical withthe arrangement of plugged holes 181' in the matrixM. Inlorder that the operation opposite to the foregoing may be readilybrought about, I have providedthe following arrangement: .InFigs 19 and`20 the matrix M is shown. The matrix M, illustrated in Fig. 19, is thatwhich is used to bring about the above operation of the machine. thereis a'notch 231 spaced in a predetermined amount from the side edge 232of the' matrix. The matrix, illustrated in Fig. 20, is that which isused to bring about operation opposite to that above describedand'herein a notch 233 is providedin .the .lower edge which is'fspacedfrom theside edge 232 of` the matrix in an amount less than the spacingof the notch 231. This arrangement is utilized in the following manner:The plate 208 has a slot 234 therein.y A screw 235 is extended through'this slot intof .the `tail 236 depending from head 182. A screw '237 issecured inv plate 208 and is 'extended through aslot 238 in tail 236.. Apin 239 is secured to When the arm 193 lis locked-in ,this

In thelower edge of this matrixv tail-236gand a. spring 240 extendsbetween this pin and-screw 237 to urgethe plate 208 upwardly..vRotatably mounted in the-head 182 is a pin 243A having a collar 244thereon rwhich rests against the inner face of the plate 208adjacent theupper edgethereof.- Outwardly of the collar 244 is a reduced Aportion245which has two. fiat `portions 246 and 247 thereomand 'the portion 245is aligned with the upper edge of the plate 208 and said plate isurgedinto'.abutmenttherewith .Outwardly ofthe portionv245 a knob 249 isprovided on thepin 243 andat diametricallyopposedpositions on theknobsuitably-'located indiciais provided, for example, the words PrintVand Skip. When thedeviceis arranged as Ashownv in Fig. y' 14 the knob.249 is disposed in what mayl be termed the,Print position since the.device, as disclosed in this-figure and in Fig. '16 is arrangedtoprintwh'env a printing device inselecting `position is Anotched in amanner. similar to that Viniwhichthe openings 1 81 are plugged thematrix M. Thisis determined'by the en-vk gagementof the upperl edge offthe'plate 208 with the surfacey246,z which is disposed close tothecenter line of,thepin243. However, if thev pin 243 is rotatedlbygripping the knob 249 to move the surface 247into engagement withthev upper end ofthe plate 208the device will vbe arranged ina somewhat.different manner as the surface 247, which :will then be engaged withtheupper endof the plate 208.is morerernoterfromthe center Vlineof thepin 2 43 than the surface 246. When the -device is arranged in thislatter vmanner the extent Vof the `plate 208 'from the. head ,182 .isgreater than.: the 'extent of the plate208 Afrom the headwhenthe upperedgev of said plate-208k engages the surface 246. It will be rememberedthat in the device as disclosed in'Figs; 14 and 16, the platen waspermitted` to print when the tail portions of .the lingers-168 movedthrough kopenings in the matrix into the recess 214 and that the platenwas held against a printing operationwhen the tailgportions of thefingers engaged the face of the matrix. v.As described, the printing`operation, was brought about when=fthe tailfportionv-209 seated on Vthesurface 211. kThe angular-relationbetween the, head 182 andthe arms 169-will 'be; determinedl by whetherv or not the tails of the ngers 168move throughV theiopenings in the matrix. Now when the device isarranged asv shown in Figs.y 14 and 16 and the tail` 209 isrestedkonthesurface 211, the devicewill print.` But when the device is arrangedas shown in Fig. 18, the tail portion 209 extends from the head 182 in agreater amount than the extent of said tail portion when the device isarranged as shown in Fig. 14. Consequently, I.when the tail-portion 209seats onthe surface 211, the position of thearm 193 wil1'be varied -and`the 1. endv ,thereof carrying the Alug 216 willnot move. upwardlyy in`-an amount as great as that inwhich it moved-when the vtail portion 209was arranged as shown in Fig. 14. L, Thereforewhen the surface 211 isengaged by the tail portion 209 when arranged as shown in Fig; 18, thenose 217Vwill be located Aalong the edge-of the notch 223`extendingfrom' the point 225 as shown in Fig. 18, and in this positionthe ngers 168 engage vthe face of thematrix and fail to move intoy the.recess,214the tail portion 209 will seat inthe notch 213 and,this willpermit the vend of the arm 193, carrying the-lug 116, to move upwardlyin anamount greater than this end of the arm moved when the tail portion209 seated on the surface 211 with the result that the nose 217 willmove into alignment with the point 225 whereupon the arm 115 will bepivoted, as previously described, to disengage the notch 114 from thelug 113 and consequently the platen will perform a printing operation.

Attention is called to the fact that identical matrices are employed inthese two conditions with the exception of the-difference in location ofthe notches r231 and 233, and this is dependent upon the followingarrangement: On the inner end of the pin 243 there is an eccentricallypositioned pin 250. When the machine is arranged for operation as shownin Figs. 14and 16, with the upper end of plate 208 engaging surface 246,the pin 250 is'disposed as shown in Fig. 19. Therefore, whena matrix Mhaving a'slot positioned as the slot 231 is slipped into the head 182,said slot will pass over the pin 250. However,

if a matrix having a notch positioned as the:

notch 233 is fitted into the head 182 it will be impossible toproperlyposition the matrix when the pin 250 is arranged as shown in Fig. 19 asthe slot and v.pin will not be aligned. ButV when the pin 250 ispositioned as shown in Fig. 20'then a matrix with thenotch positioned asthe notch 233 may be fitted into the head 182 andunder this conditionthe upper end of plate 208 will engage the surface 247.v yIt will thusbe seen that even though the matrices having the openings thereinplugged in an identical manner are used it will be impossible to performincorrect printing operations which might result if the matrices werearranged oppositely, this, of course, also bringing about the abovereverse operation. By this opposite arrangement it is meant that theopenings- 180 which were open in the above. description would be pluggedwhile the plugged openings wouldv be left open. I l

Operation of the machine is often brought about by arranging the disc 69in the manner which will cause continuous rotation of the shaft 34.Under these conditions it is often'desirable to provide a suitablesignal to indicate when a printing device is being skipped or when aprinting device is being used in a printing operation and` sucharrangement might also be utilized when the machine is being operated bythe foot pedals 59 or 64. In this machine I haveprovided an audiblesignal in the form of a bell, and this bell is operated in the followingmanner: In the machine, as previously described, the plugging of theopenings in the matrices was such thatthe plugs were flush with the faceof the matrix. `However, when it is desired tol utilize the audiblesignal the plugs in the matrix are arranged to extend above the facethereof. The audible signal may be arranged either to operate when aprinting ydevice is to be skipped or when a printing device is used in aprinting operation.

If the machine isarranged as shown in Figs. 14 and 16 and the audiblesignal is to be operated when a printing device is to be skipped, theplugging of the openings in the matrix will be such that the plugs willextend for a short distance above the face of the matrix as, by way ofexample, for one-thirty-second of an inch. It

` has been pointed out that all the parts of the the notch 213, but whena matrix with extended plugs is used, the tail portion 209 operatesbetween the surface 212 and the notch 213, as the engagement of the tailportions of the pins 168 with the extended plugs changes the radii ofthe various paths of movement of the various parts, carried by the arms169, about the shaft 170. When the device is used with a matrix havingflush plugs, the tail portion 209 moves between the surface 211 and theend of the notch 213 adjacent thereto. When the device is used with a.

matrix having extending plugs therein', the tail portion 209 operatesbetween the surface 212 and the end of the notch 213 adjacent thissurface. When a matrix with extended plugs is arranged in the head 182and the machine is arranged, as' disclosed in Figs. 14 and 16,' and theselector mechanisms operate as disclosed in Fig. 16 to engage the faceof the matrix, which will cause a plate to be skipped, the tail portionsof the fingersl 168 will engage the extended plugs and will pivot thehead 182 so that the tail portion 209 will enter the notch 213 at theend adjacent the surface 212.

The tail portion 209 has the portion 251 which is aligned with theextent of the plate 208, and it is this portion 251 which causesoperation of the bell. Pivotally mounted on the arm 210 at 252 is a dog253 that includes a toe portion 254 that normally extends abovethesurface 212, as illustrated in Fig. 21. The dog 253 also includes an arm255 having a shoulder 256 thereon, and when the audible signal isinoperative the latch portion 257, on the arm 258 of the bell crank 259,rests on the shoulder 256. The bell crank 259 is pivotally mounted onthe shaft 170, as best illustrated inY Fig. 22. A spring 261 extendsbetween the arm 258 of the bell crank and the bracket and urges arm 258downwardly. A spring 260 extends between the bracket 95 and the arm 255and urges the arm 255 toward the latch 257 to hold the shoulder 256 inengagement with said latch. When the tail portion 209 is seated in themanner last described, the tail portion 251 engages the toe portion 254and pivots the dog 253 about the pivotal mounting 252 thereof todisengage the shoulder 256 from the latch 257 and the spring 261 pivotsthe arm 258 of the bell crank 259 downwardly.` vOn the arm 262 of thebell crank 259 a yieldable arm 263 is secured, at the lower end of whichthere is a knocker 264, which, when the arm 258 is pivoted downwardlystrikes the bell 265 to produce an audible signal, said bell beingsupported on the depending boss 266 and thus an audible signal will beproduced each time a printing device is skipped. An adjusting screw 267extends through the arm 262 and engages adepending boss 268 on thearm'193, and when said arm 193 is pivoted to move the fingers 168 towardthe printing device in selecting position this boss 268 engages the'pn267 and ypivots the bell crank 259`to cause reengagement of the latch257 with the shoulder 256.

Under certain conditions it is desirable to produce an audible signalwhen an impression is taken from a printing device, rather than when aprinting device is skipped, and to do this the holes in the matrix areplugged with plugs that are extended above the face of the matrix in anamount greater than that above described, for example, one-sixteenth ofan inch, and the parts are arranged as illustrated in Fig. 22.Therefore, when the tail portions of the pins 168 engage one of theplugs, the parts `will be so pivoted about the shaft 170 that the tailpor-

